The invention relates to a method, a computer program product and an electronic control device for finding a parking space for vehicles. There are often considerable shortages of parking spaces in cities, in particular at peak times in rush-hour traffic or on weekends, for example, with the result that the available parking spaces can only be found by the vehicle drivers with difficulty. This often results in the vehicles having to travel on the city streets for a relatively long time in order to search for parking spaces. This results in additional traffic which, in turn, overall adversely affects the traffic situation and may result in traffic jams.
US 2010/0302068 A1 discloses a search system in which persons who remove a vehicle from a parking space use mobile radio devices to report this information to an information platform which is accessible to other mobile radio users. A user who retrieves this information can then deliberately head for the parking space which has been reported as being free. Communication can be carried out by means of so-called “apps” using smartphone mobile radio devices. In this case, their GPS (Global Positioning System) information can be additionally used to limit search results to those parking spaces reported as available which can be reached by the user looking for a parking space in a sufficiently short time. This makes it possible to reduce the risk of the parking space being randomly occupied in the meantime by another vehicle. Nevertheless, this disadvantageous situation of an ultimately futile search for a parking space and the associated high volatility of the parking space information provided cannot be precluded.
WO 03/039040 A1 describes a search system for searching for a parking space, in which a parking space in a predetermined area, for example in a parking garage, can be booked in advance using a reservation server. The server is used to query a database in order to determine whether a parking space is available for a desired period, and data relevant to the reservation, for example the identification of the vehicle, are possibly stored in the database and the reservation is confirmed. The disadvantage in this case is that such a reservation service and the reserved parking space require further complicated technical measures, including the maintenance thereof, for example for entry control, in order to be able to ensure the reservation. They are generally also disadvantageous because they are associated with considerable parking fees for the person searching for the parking space even though a more favorable parking space, for example on the road, would possibly be available.
WO 2012/092276 A2 discloses a method in which the probability of a parking space being available on a street is respectively modeled.
The contents of the publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The object of the invention is to make it possible to flexibly and reliably find a parking space for vehicles in a target area.
This and other objects are achieved according to the invention by a method, computer program product, or electronic control device for finding a parking space for a vehicle in a target area, wherein:
a connection server stores connection data associated with the target area for a plurality of data servers each storing data relating to at least one parking space,
a search request to find a parking space in the target area is addressed to the connection server, and
the connection server uses the association data to establish a connection to the data servers and, in the process, queries whether availability data relating to available parking spaces in the target area are stored in the respective database. If availability data are available, the respective data servers transmit feedback data to the connection server.
The query by the connection server is carried out in multiple stages in such a manner that, in a first query stage, the data servers are preselected, in which case first parking space data based on the target area are requested by the connection server and corresponding first feedback data from the data servers are used to respond whether the respective data server contains parking space data relating to the target area. On the basis of the first feedback data, the connection server then decides which of the respective data servers are preselected. At least one data server is then selected from the preselected data servers as a selection server.
Second feedback data which are more detailed than the respective first feedback data at least in terms of the parking space location are respectively retrieved in a second query stage with respect to the selection server.
The features according to the invention can be implemented in a method, in a computer program product and/or in an electronic control device.
The invention recognized that it is advantageous, for an efficient parking space search and allocation, to technically combine different search systems and their data servers in such a manner that it is possible to respectively select the most suitable data server according to predefined search criteria, and to select the search provider operating this data server, for a search request. For this purpose, provision may also be advantageously made for the anonymous feedback data to be assessed in the connection server and for the feedback from different search systems or databases used in the latter to be compared on the basis of the assessment. In this case, the anonymous and/or detailed feedback data can be assessed on the basis of a correction factor which is specific to the data server and is dynamically changed in the connection server, in which case at least one characteristic variable determined when finding the parking space is respectively used for changing. The characteristic variable can be determined automatically, for example using an item of information obtained by GPS or using data from vehicle operation, for example the running time of the engine before being switched off or the distance traveled to the parking space since the complete parking space information was received. If the vehicle has actually traveled to the determined location of the parking space but has not been parked there for a certain time, this would be an indication that the parking space information was incorrect, for example. The correction factor associated with the relevant data server is then downgraded according to a lower reliability. The correction factor can also be changed according to statistical methods from a multiplicity of search requests.
The invention is also advantageously used to carry out a two-stage query which makes it possible, on the one hand, to limit the volumes of data because not all available data from all search providers have to be automatically transmitted, but rather only selected data. The feedback data in the first query stage may be the availability data and/or data derived therefrom. An expected parking space search time, data relating to the distance from the destination or data relating to the costs associated with the search service and/or parking fees may be provided, for example, as first feedback data. Limiting the volumes of data in the first query stage makes it possible, in particular, to save costs and the workload for mobile radio networks which are used to establish a connection between the connection server and a data terminal, for example a navigation system or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), which is provided in the vehicle and addresses the search request to find the parking space in the target area to the connection server.
The first feedback data do not include, in particular, any data relating to the exact parking space location. This makes it possible to ensure that the user makes a specifically documented selection of the search provider and the second query stage is carried out, in which specific reservation data relating to a parking garage are generated, for example, and are then transmitted as second feedback data before heading for the parking space. The feedback data in the second query stage may determine the exact parking space location using GPS coordinates, may represent an image of the parking space or the parking space environment and/or may contain a text description of the parking space and/or other information.
In another advantageous exemplary embodiment, the connection server addresses queries relating to the availability of feedback data in predefined target areas to the data servers independently of a search request at predefined intervals of time. This is particularly advantageous when an open interface is provided in the connection server such that search providers can independently couple their respective data servers for providing their search service to the connection server, for example by simply storing a network address of the data server in the connection server, for example an Internet network address. The connection server and the data servers may then interact using the interface and/or computer program modules respectively stored and loaded in them in such a manner that the connection server automatically queries all stored data servers at the predefined intervals of time, for example daily, weekly or monthly, in order to determine whether and possibly for which target areas the data servers contain corresponding data. The data from such a general availability query can be interchanged at least partially in the same manner as in the first query stage of a specific parking space search described above. The connection server can be selected using criteria set in the vehicle.
The type, format and volume of the data interchanged between the connection server and the data servers are preferably stipulated in advance, in which case a minimum volume of data and/or a maximum volume of data can be stipulated. The volume of data between the connection server and the terminal in the vehicle may likewise be stipulated, with the result that the operator of the terminal can respectively receive a uniform volume of data via a uniform operator interface independently of the selected search provider. In this case, it is also advantageous that the user is not confronted with different systems belonging to different search providers but rather requires only one contact partner with the system thereof, which contact partner acts as a uniform interface and can guarantee the user a particular quality of the search service.
In another advantageous exemplary embodiment, at least position data (coordinates) relating to the parking space are transmitted to a navigation system provided in the vehicle from the second feedback data. The navigation system can then directly determine the route to the parking space and can display the route on a display.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.